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Single-node file server

To create a single-node file server:

  1. Create a VM for the file server
  2. Set up Samba and NFS
  3. Test the file server operation

Before you start

Before creating a VM:

  1. Go to the Yandex.Cloud management console and select the folder where you want to perform the operations.
  2. Make sure the selected folder has a network with a subnet that the VM can be connected to. To do this, click the Virtual Private Cloud tile on the folder page. If the list contains a network, click on its name to see the list of subnets. If there aren't any networks or subnets, create them.

1. Create a VM for the file server

To create a VM:

  1. On the folder page of the management console, click Create resource and select Virtual machine.

  2. In the Name field, enter the VM name: fileserver-tutorial.

  3. Select the availability zone to locate the VM in.

  4. Select the Ubuntu or CentOS public image.

  5. In the Computing resources section:

    • Choose the platform.
    • Specify the required amount of vCPUs and RAM.

    Recommended values for the file server:

    • Guaranteed vCPU share: 100%.
    • vCPU: 8 or more.
    • RAM: 56 GB or more.

  6. In the Disks section, click Add disk. In the Add disk window, specify the disk settings for data storage:

    • Name: fileserver-tutorial-disk.
    • Size: 100 GB.
    • Disk type: NVMe.
    • Content: Empty.

    Click Add.

  7. In the Network settings section, select the subnet to connect the VM to when creating it.

  8. Specify data required for accessing the VM.

    • Enter the username in the Login field.
    • In the SSH key field, paste the contents of the public key file. You need to create a key pair for SSH connection yourself. To generate keys, use third-party tools, such as ssh-keygen utilities on Linux and macOS or PuTTYgen on Windows.

  9. Click Create VM.

Creating the VM may take several minutes. When the VM's status changes to RUNNING, you can set up NFS and Samba.

When a VM is created, it is assigned an IP address and hostname (FQDN). This data can be used for SSH access.

2. Set up Samba and NFS

After the fileserver-tutorial VM's status changes to RUNNING, do the following:

  1. Go to the VM page of the management console. In the Network section, find the VM's public IP address.

  2. Connect to the VM over SSH. You can use the ssh tool on Linux and macOS and PuTTY for Windows.

    The recommended authentication method when connecting over SSH is using a key pair. Don't forget to set up the created key pair: the private key must match the public key sent to the VM.

  3. Download and install Samba:

    $ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install nfs-kernel-server samba

    $ sudo yum check-update
$ sudo yum -y install nfs-utils nfs-utils-lib samba nano
$ sudo chkconfig smb on
$ sudo chkconfig nfs on

  4. Prepare and mount the file system on the data storage disk:

    $ sudo mkfs -t ext4 -L data /dev/vdb
$ sudo mkdir /data
$ echo "LABEL=data /data ext4 defaults 0 0" | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab
$ sudo mount /data

  5. Set the NFS configuration in the /etc/exports file. You can edit the file using the nano utility:

    $ sudo nano /etc/exports

    Add the following lines to the file:

    /data <IP address>(rw,no_subtree_check,fsid=100)
/data 127.0.0.1(rw,no_subtree_check,fsid=100)

    Instead of<IP address>, specify the IP address of the computer to which you are going to connect the network data disk via NFS.

  6. Set the Samba configuration in the /etc/samba/smb.conf file. You can edit the file using the nano utility:

    $ sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf

    Make the file look like:

    [global]
   workgroup = WORKGROUP
   server string = %h server (Samba)
   dns proxy = no
   log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
   max log size = 1000
   syslog = 0
   panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d
   server role = standalone server
   passdb backend = tdbsam
   obey pam restrictions = yes
   unix password sync = yes
   passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
   passwd chat = *Enter\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *Retype\snew\s*\spassword:* %n\n *password\supdated\ssuccessfully* .
   pam password change = yes
   map to guest = bad user
   usershare allow guests = yes
[printers]
   comment = All Printers
   browseable = no
   path = /var/spool/samba
   printable = yes
   guest ok = no
   read only = yes
   create mask = 0700
[print$]
   comment = Printer Drivers
   path = /var/lib/samba/printers
   browseable = yes
   read only = yes
   guest ok = no
[data]
   comment = /data
   path = /data
   browseable = yes
   read only = no
   writable = yes
   guest ok = yes
   hosts allow = <IP address> 127.0.0.1
   hosts deny = 0.0.0.0/0

    [global]
   workgroup = MYGROUP
   server string = Samba Server Version %v
   log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
   max log size = 50
   security = user
   passdb backend = tdbsam
   load printers = yes
   cups options = raw
   map to guest = bad user
[homes]
   comment = Home Directories
   browseable = no
   writable = yes
[printers]
   comment = All Printers
   path = /var/spool/samba
   browseable = no
   guest ok = no
   writable = no
   printable = yes
[data]
   comment = /data
   path = /data
   browseable = yes
   read only = no
   writable = yes
   guest ok = yes
   hosts allow = <IP address> 127.0.0.1
   hosts deny = 0.0.0.0/0

    [global]
        workgroup = SAMBA
        security = user

        passdb backend = tdbsam

        printing = cups
        printcap name = cups
        load printers = yes
        cups options = raw

[homes]
        comment = Home Directories
        valid users = %S, %D%w%S
        browseable = No
        read only = No
        inherit acls = Yes

[printers]
        comment = All Printers
        path = /var/tmp
        printable = Yes
        create mask = 0600
        browseable = No

[print$]
        comment = Printer Drivers
        path = /var/lib/samba/drivers
        write list = @printadmin root
        force group = @printadmin
        create mask = 0664
        directory mask = 0775
[data]
   comment = /data
   path = /data
   browseable = yes
   read only = no
   writable = yes
   guest ok = yes
   hosts allow = <IP address> 127.0.0.1
   hosts deny = 0.0.0.0/0

    In the [data] section, instead of <IP address>, specify the IP address of the computer to which you are going to connect the network data disk via NFS.

  7. Restart NFS and Samba; for CentOS 6 and 7, first allow reading files in the /data directory:

    $ sudo service nfs-kernel-server restart
$ sudo service smbd restart

    $ sudo chcon -t samba_share_t /data
$ sudo semanage fcontext -a -t samba_share_t "/data(/.*)?"
$ sudo restorecon -R -v /data
$ sudo service rpcbind restart
$ sudo service nfs restart
$ sudo service smb restart

  8. This step should only be performed on a VM running CentOS 6.

    Allow network access to the VM using the iptables utility:

    $ sudo iptables -I INPUT -p tcp -s <IP address> -j ACCEPT
$ sudo iptables -I INPUT -p udp -s <IP address> -j ACCEPT
$ sudo iptables-save | sudo tee /etc/sysconfig/iptables

    Instead of<IP address>, specify the IP address of the computer to which you are going to connect the network data disk via NFS.

3. Test the file server operation

  1. On the fileserver-tutorial VM, create a test directory with a file as follows:

    $ sudo mkdir /data/fileserver-tutorial
$ sudo setfacl -m u:<your user's name>:w /data/fileserver-tutorial
$ echo "Hello world!" > /data/fileserver-tutorial/test.txt

  2. Connect the network disk to your computer via NFS and check if the test file is available:

    Run the command mount -t nfs <external IP>:/data /<mount point>.

    The test directory and its file must be available at the specified mount point.

    1. Run the cmd.exe utility. To do this, use the keyboard shortcut Windows+R and run the command cmd.

    2. From the command line, run:

      net use x: \\<VM's public IP address>\data

    The test directory and its file must be available on disk X.